Why has Africa not been doing so well and what is the way forward? This book starts with the analysis of Vansina and Prah: the old cultural traditions in Africa have been destroyed in colonial... Show moreWhy has Africa not been doing so well and what is the way forward? This book starts with the analysis of Vansina and Prah: the old cultural traditions in Africa have been destroyed in colonial times; new ones are currently taking shape, based in part in African languages. The book uses cross-cultural psychology to show that such new cultural traditions are indeed forming in Africa. However, almost all African countries currently use a former colonial language in secondary and higher education. The book demonstrates that if more and more people get educated, this system will no longer scale. Over the next decade, more and more African countries will have to make a transition towards increased use of African languages. The book proposes a distinction between discerned and designed languages. All over the world, designed languages are made to serve speakers of several discerned languages. This could and should happen in Africa as well. The book contains a number of brief case studies, showing how in fact such a transition is practically possible. In future, African countries will be able to achieve success in their educational systems by using a small number of languages as medium of instruction. Such a transition will also help to form the new cultural traditions that are already taking shape on the continent. Show less
Human trafficking is a persistent global social and economic problem, and part of international organized crime, involving local regional, national, and global agents and networks, and victims... Show moreHuman trafficking is a persistent global social and economic problem, and part of international organized crime, involving local regional, national, and global agents and networks, and victims whose social characteristics traverse age (as they can be children, youths, or adults) and gender (women and men). Ethiopia is not an exception in this regard, and many disadvantaged Ethiopians have fallen victim to human trafficking. This study focuses on the trafficking of Ethiopian women to the Middle East to work as domestic workers. It documents how some of these trafficked women are recruited and transported, and often subjected to severe abuse, including denial of salary, sleep deprivation, passport confiscation, confinement, and physical and sexual assault. It is recognized that some women actively aim for irregular migratjon and try their luck, i.e., not all are by definition trafficked. They thereby aim to stay clear of trafficking agents and dependency but most become entangled in it. Only a few of the trafficked women can escape the above-mentioned abuses, depending on their employers and family or other social networks they may build up or appeal to in the host country. Forms of abuse and inhumane practices, however, predominate against most trafficked Ethiopian women and take place within the ambiguous framework of the kafala system, which is prevalent throughout the Middle Eastern countries.This study was motivated by at least two main concerns, one personal and the other academic. Personally I was intrigued by this tenacious phenomenon causing multiple problems for young women, often marking their lives, and by a concern to see the abusive aspects of the trafficking addressed. Academically, although there is a myriad of studies on the trafficking of Ethiopian women to the Middle East, there are few if any major academic research inquiries undertaken on the Arsi Zone, which is however one of the primary sources of Ethiopian women trafficked to the Middle East. Second, beyond responding to the need to study the root causes of human trafficking, a perplexing question is why human trafficking, in general, and women trafficking, in particular, is still on the increase, despite the proliferation of international, regional and national policy and legal frameworks and institutions established with the central aim of mitigating human trafficking through prevention, protection, and prosecution.Therefore, this study aims to explore the nature, prevalence, root causes, and societal consequences of human trafficking in the two Arsi zones of Arsi and Arsi West of Oromiya National Regional State, so as to inquire why they have persisted. To realize this objective, the data and information used in this study were collected from trafficked women themselves, from185their families, and from middlemen and agents, and relevant government officials, using both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection in a complementary manner. The study has investigated the trafficking process, i.e., how those trafficked within Ethiopia and to Middle Eastern host countries are recruited and how they travel, are treated, tried to retain agency over their life, and tried to cope. It also sheds light on the role of women returnees from being trafficked, their experiences and tribulations, and (very occasional) successes.Theoretically, this study argues that although trafficking is a transnational phenomenon, its root causes are local, often determined by social and economic factors conducive to poverty, unemployment, gender inequality, and food insecurity, to mention the main ones. Therefore, mitigating women trafficking cannot be treated only as a matter of law and order in the liberal tradition of the individual-civic freedom and emancipation paradigm without giving due recognition to the persistent socio-economic factors which propelled trafficking in the first place. Integrating these two perspectives, which this study advocates, would have critical academic and policy implications for conceiving any credible and practicable interventions to mitigate human trafficking. Show less
This study examined impacts of large-scale farming in Ethiopia on local economic development, household food security, incomes, employment, and the environment. The study adopted a mixed research... Show moreThis study examined impacts of large-scale farming in Ethiopia on local economic development, household food security, incomes, employment, and the environment. The study adopted a mixed research approach in which both qualitative and quantitative data were generated from secondary and primary sources. Three large-scale farms (two foreign and one domestic) operating in Oromia, Gambella, and Benshanguel Gumuz regional states were selected as case studies. The result of the study indicated that large-scale farms generally undermined local level food security and incomes, generated little employment opportunities for the local population, deteriorated the local environment, especially in terms of vegetation cover and soil quality, and contributed little to local economic development, such as infrastructure construction, technology transfer, and generating fiscal revenue and foreign currency. The study concluded that the approach of large-scale mechanized farming contributes little to the economic and agricultural transformation of the nation. Local people generally lose out in respect of land transactions and investments, and they are expropriated from their customary land rights to the benefit of national goals. The outcome contradicts with the ethno-linguistic federal state arrangement of the country in which federated states manage their resources to improve their local development. Show less
Most scientific literature on hyena-human interrelationships in Africa sug-gests conflict situations, often resulting in the killing of hyenas. Hyenas survive with difficulty in human-altered... Show moreMost scientific literature on hyena-human interrelationships in Africa sug-gests conflict situations, often resulting in the killing of hyenas. Hyenas survive with difficulty in human-altered habitats and coexistence between hyenas and local communities is problematic. This is because hyenas need extensive areas, usually with few people and sufficient prey. In contrast to this, the present dissertation presents an exceptional case of peaceful co-existence between hyenas and humans. Based on regular observations of hyenas and anecdotal reports, I hypothesized that hyenas in the Tigray re-gion, northern Ethiopia, survive in human-dominated landscapes because of a unique combination of adaptation to anthropogenic food and cultural tolerance towards hyenas. My research aimed to investigate hyena ecology and behavior in human-dominated and prey-depleted landscapes in Tigray. Hyenas are common in many parts of Ethiopia, and in most of those areas, prey populations have been depleted. In northern Ethiopia, the natural prey base is depleted due to agricultural expansion, deforestation, human settle-ment, and habitat fragmentation and degradation Show less
This thesis investigates the grammar of Sheko, an Omotic language spoken in southwest Ethiopia. The study presents an analysis of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language, amply... Show moreThis thesis investigates the grammar of Sheko, an Omotic language spoken in southwest Ethiopia. The study presents an analysis of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language, amply illustrated by examples. The supplements contain a sample of texts and an extensive word list. Among other things, the author discusses the interrelation between gender, definiteness and number in nominal morphology. Some nominal morphology also occurs on verbal forms. In the verb system, stem formation, aspectual and modal distinctions as well as stance marking are treated. The language has a rich array of complex verb constructions, such as medial clauses and serial verb constructions, next to different types of subordinate clauses. In relative clauses, a resumptive pronoun may occur before the antecedent. One of the divergent ways in which interrogatives are formed is by ‘subtractive morphology’, i.e. dropping off a grammatical element which is obligatorily present in declaratives. Furthermore, subject clitics attach to a variety of hosts in correlation to information structure and focus. These and a number of other issues make the work valuable for specialists of Omotic and Afroasiatic studies as well as for general linguists and anyone interested in the typology of language. Show less
In the contemporary world, state restructuring has become a global phenomenon. In almost all corners of the world, there are currently efforts that aim at redesigning structures of states in... Show moreIn the contemporary world, state restructuring has become a global phenomenon. In almost all corners of the world, there are currently efforts that aim at redesigning structures of states in response to demands of communities for increased participation in the politico-economic realm. In this context, federalism has become attractive to multiethnic countries as a way of maintaining balance between such lofty ideas as ‘self-rule’ and ‘shared-rule’. But federalism may either reduce or exacerbate conflicts. This depends on the contextual factors. Using comparative and empirical approaches, this study analyses the impacts of federalism on ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia in general and in the Somali and Benishangul-Gumuz regions in particular. Show less
Intestinal schistosomiasis is a disease caused by the tre-Schistosoma mansoni (Sambon, 1907). Man is the principal final host of this parasitic worm and the intermediate host is a fresh water snail... Show moreIntestinal schistosomiasis is a disease caused by the tre-Schistosoma mansoni (Sambon, 1907). Man is the principal final host of this parasitic worm and the intermediate host is a fresh water snail. The adult worms, which are some 8-15 mm long, inhabit the portal venous system. There, the females produce large amounts of eggs, many of which are excreted with the faeces. The remaining eggs get stuck in the tissues where they die. As a result of the dead eggs bilharzial granulomas are formed which are the main cause of pathologie changes in the host. The excreted eggs hatch on immersion in water and the escaping miracidia can freely live in the water for several hours. If they succeed in penetrating an intermediate host snail (in Ethiopia; Biomphalaria pfeifferi) a mother sporocyst, several daughter sporocysts, and eventually, after some 4-5 weeks, many cercariae are produced, The phase of asexual multiplication in the snail host results in the production of large numbers of exclusively either male or female cercariae. Only snails that have been penetrated successfully by several miracidia may shed cercariae of both sexes. The free living cercariae have a short life span: most of them die within 24 hours. Man may become infected when his skin is exposed to water containing cercariae. When the cercariae penetrate man's skin they are transformed into schistosomules and in some 40-60 days these schistosomules develop into adult worms that migrate to the portal and mesenteric veins. Then eggs are produced again. Show less
